High-performance, artificial athletic fields are increasingly being installed and used in communities across the United States. Many of these fields are “infill turf systems” in which blades of synthetic grass are tufted into a backing system that is covered with a deep layer of sand and/or synthetic particles (the infill material). The infill material is often made of small particles of rubber or plastic, which fills the spaces between the fibers (blades of “grass”) to hold the fibers up and to provide a cushioned surface.
To maintain these artificial athletic fields it is desirable to remove litter from the field after sporting events and the like, and to otherwise clean and groom the field. There are various devices and methods of removing litter from an artificial field, but many of these devices and methods undesirably collect infill material as the device is moved across the artificial field, with no effective manner or method of returning the infill material to the artificial field. Additionally, many of these devices are ineffective or incapable of removing ferrous material from the artificial field. Further, many of these devices lack inclining and/or tilting capabilities, which is often desirable due to changing field conditions.
Accordingly, a need exists for a device that cleans synthetic infill turf surfaces while allowing infill material that is picked up during the cleaning process to be returned to the field. A need also exists for a device that cleans synthetic infill turf surfaces of ferromagnetic material that may not be picked up by common brush-type cleaning systems. A need also exists for a device that is easily adjustable in height and orientation to allow the device to be used on surfaces that may have varying blade heights and/or surface slopes. The present invention addresses these needs.